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| Mercury |
Mercury
is usually found in rust-colored rocks called cinnabar. The ore is crushed, then heated to release
the mercury.
Mercury
is perhaps the strangest of all metals.
It is the only metal that liquid at ordinary temperatures.
In
nature, mercury is most often found in rust-colored rocks called cinnabar,
although pure mercury can be mined.
To
get the mercury from its ore, the cinnabar is crushed then heated to release
and vaporize the mercury. The mercury
vapor then is caught and cooled.
Cooled,
the vapors condense into a silvery liquid such as you see going up and down in
a thermometer.
Because
of its fluid quality and color, mercury is sometimes called “quicksilver.” Anyone who has ever tried to pick up some
spilled quicksilver will agree that the name is a good one.
When
spilled, it “breaks” into tiny balls
that are hard to gather up.
Today,
mercury’s unusual properties make it useful not only in thermometers, but in
making thousands of products – from barometers and lights switches to
pesticides. – Dick Rogers
